The present invention relates to the field of electrical stimulation of human tissue. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for applying a therapeutic signal to human tissue to aid in loosening connective tissue and stimulating blood circulation to encourage hair growth.
In an age of great emphasis on youth and beauty, hair loss has become a major concern. Indeed, some sort of baldness (alopecia) affects a significant percentage of the total male population. Some women also experience thinning of the hair as they age, although baldness in women is rare. Male pattern baldness is the most common form of baldness, and begins with hair loss from the vertex and the frontoparietal regions of the scalp, ultimately leaving only a sparse peripheral rim of scalp hair. A hair follicle is a tube-like opening into the epidermis where a hair develops, and a hair root is the part of a hair that is embedded in the hair follicle. In affected areas, the hair follicles produce finer and lighter terminal hairs until terminal hair production ceases.
The cause of male pattern baldness is unknown. However, it is theorized that male pattern baldness may be caused by a combination of factors that include, for example, the vascular composition of the individual, the physical structure of an individual""s scalp, aging, and the male characteristic hormone, testosterone. In other words, poor blood circulation in the scalp, non-elasticity of the scalp tissue resulting from increased cross-linkage of connective tissue, loss of skin elasticity due to aging, and testosterone play a role in male pattern baldness. This combination of factors is believed to cause a deprivation of the trophic, or nutritional factor, of hair follicles. This deprivation of adequate nutrition results in shortening of the hair follicles and eventual cessation of hair production. When the hair follicles have been destroyed, alopecia is thought to be irrevocable. However, in the early stages before total follicular damage, restoration of the nutritional factor is thought to help.
In response to the distress of those suffering from male pattern baldness, a multitude of treatments have been devised in an attempt to stop and/or reverse the process of hair loss. These treatments include medications, hair transplants, scalp exercise, low voltage electrical stimulation, and so forth. Although many have claimed to have solved the problem, in whole or in part, there has yet to be found a definitive solution that will truly mitigate the problem of undesired hair loss.
One technique that has met with limited success is the application of low voltage electrical stimulation to the skin layers of the scalp through an electrode coupled with massage. A device is utilized that generates numerous square wave voltage waveforms, each of a different frequency. These are turned on and off at various intervals, to yield a continuously varying signal. The combined use of low voltage electrical stimulation and massage is believed to loosen the skin layers and connective tissue in the scalp. The treatment has resulted in the retardation of hair loss for some, and has resulted in the rejuvenation of hair growth in others.
Low voltage electrical stimulation has had limited success, due in part because of non-optimal signal characteristics produced by prior art devices, inadequate surface contact between the electrode and the body portion undergoing treatment, and ambiguous perceived xe2x80x9coperator feel.xe2x80x9d By way of example, it is believed that in one prior art device, the rise time and fall time of the generated square waves utilized to produce the therapeutic signals is undesirably slow. This results in a less than optimum therapeutic signal and less effective treatment.
The administration of the treatment is enhanced by a perceived xe2x80x9coperator feel.xe2x80x9d That is, an operator must be trained to experience a physical sense of increased resistance to the massaging action in the region of taut skin and dense connective tissue, i.e., the xe2x80x9ctight regions.xe2x80x9d When stimulated by electricity, this physical sense of increased resistance is enhanced. It is theorized that the effectiveness of the treatment can be speeded up by focusing treatment on these tight regions. A prior electrode utilized for treatment has a flattened tip, and an operator is compelled to hold the electrode substantially perpendicular relative to the body portion being treated. This electrode shape makes it difficult for the operator to apply the appropriate pressure and massage technique to the body portion being treated, while concurrently sensing through xe2x80x9coperator feelxe2x80x9d this increased resistance to the massaging action in tight regions in response to the treatment. The inadequate surface contact between the electrode and the body portion undergoing treatment, and ambiguous perceived xe2x80x9coperator feelxe2x80x9d due to the position in which the electrode is held results in undesirably lengthy operator training and/or less effective, treatments.
As such, it is highly desirable to improve the success rate of the aforementioned electrical stimulation technique for the encouragement of hair growth.
Stress, brought about by lifestyle, chronic pain, and/or other health issues, may play an important part in hair loss. During periods of high stress, it has been noted that some individuals suffer from increased shedding of the hair and/or a decrease in new hair production. If there is increased shedding and decreased new production of hair, there will be less visible hair on the scalp. Accordingly hair loss may be exacerbated for those individuals in stressful situations. Consequently, it is desirable to incorporate a stress reduction methodology into the electrical stimulation technique for the further encouragement of hair growth.
Accordingly, it is an advantage of the present invention that a method is provided for applying a therapeutic signal to a body portion to encourage hair growth.
It is another advantage of the present invention that a method is provided that employs an electrical stimulation technique and a massaging motion that loosens connective tissue thereby improving the nutritional factor of the subject body portion.
Another advantage of the present invention is that method is performed on successive body portions to achieve subject relaxation, pain relief, and commensurate stress reduction.
The above and other advantages of the present invention are carried out in one form by a method of applying a therapeutic signal to a body portion of a subject to encourage hair growth. The method calls for securing a first electrode in contact with a skin surface of the subject remote from the body portion, the first electrode being maintained at a ground potential from which the therapeutic signal is referred. The method further calls for positioning a second electrode at the body portion, the second electrode including a conductive pod and a grip interconnected with the conductive pod, and providing the therapeutic signal at the second electrode. The second electrode is manipulated by an operator at the body portion. The operator utilizes both hands to manipulate the second electrode such that a first one of the hands applies pressure to the conductive pod, a second one of the hands applies force on the grip, and the hands act cooperatively to apply a circular motion to the body portion underlying the conductive pod. The circular motion is repetitively applied as the conductive pod is moved across the body portion to loosen connective tissue at the body portion.